AIBU to think that this was NOT a 'goodwill gesture' at all (refund/ exchange)

[noonar]

I bought dd some jeans at Hennes 3 months ago. They cost £15. They don't fit her so i thought i'd try my luck today and go for an exchange. i have the receipt.

when i got to the till, after much discussion between staff, i was told that as a goodwill gesture they would exchange the jeans for a £5 credit note.

now, i was perfectly prepared to be told that i was far too late to return them. fair enough. but AIBU to think that them offering me credit for a third of the original amount, when i had proof of purchase, is not a goodwill gesture. i mean, they are effectively saying " as a 'goodwill gesture' we will pocket only 2/3 of what you paid us and take the jeans back!"

AIBU to think that they should either simply say 'no' to any return, or credit the full amount that i had proved that i had paid? i know that shops sometimes say that they can only credit the sale price if an item has since been reduced, but i thought that was only if you had no proof that you'd paid the full amount.

herv, i would have been less annoyed if they'd said that after x amount of time, it is company policy to credit the sale amount only. fair enough. but dont try and dress that up as a favour/ gesture to me, the customer!

tether, thankyou. just you me and lady so far who think i'm not being unreasonable! my threads always turn out like this with me in a minority

But what I'm trying to say is anything that they offer on unwanted goods is a goodwill gesture-be it a fiver/a third of the purchase price or crediting you an amount equal to the sale amount.

If you buy goods and they are not faulty you cannot take them back because you don't want them

But honestly I can see why you're annoyed it's not very clever customer service!

"my threads always turn out like this with me in a minority"

You might find you get more than 1/3 of the cost back if you Ebay them

I think the "goodwill" bit must be that they didn't have to offer you anything. Which it sounds like they would have been better off doing.

FWIW I'd be if they offered me £5 too!

well considering you brought them three months ago, i think it was pretty good of them.

had you brought them back with 4 weeks (isometimes it 2..it will be on the reciet) you most likely have got a full return in ethier cash or credit!
why did you leave it so long?

oh you know, kinky i was too busy partying!

actually i forgot about them then found the hennes bag buried under a mountain of coats on a coat hook in hall

It's not about whether they should have refunded you or not- they were under no obligation to offer anything. It's about calling a poor deal a 'goodwill gesture' and expecting you to be grateful. Er... no.

They may as well have offered you some magic beans

exactly tethers. well put

I'm surprised they didn't laugh in your face Tbh.

I'd have given you the fiver too, in this case I think "goodwill gesture" should be translated as "in astonishment at your utter brass neck".

It's in the first paragraph: "i thought i'd try my luck today"

enjoy, i had to google what you posted:

Brass Neck definition
To display staggeringly daring rudeness and / or cheek. First Cousin to balls of brass.
bit strong to say they shouldve laughed in my face! i did say 'i've had these for ages, dont suppose there's any chance of an exchange" i didnt stamp my feet and demand one, you know!

You had the goods for a quarter of a year, despite your receipt stating x days to return, you still went back.

My comment stands.

Do you understand the concept of shopping at all?

She could have strolled up to the counter smoking a fag and demanding a full refund, and it wouldn't alter the fact that a £5 voucher is a bewilderingly odd and in no way 'good' offer for the store to make.

At least if they laughed in her face, she'd still be £10 better off.

you could chance your luck with the jeans on ebay but I doubt you'd get £5 and ebay would take 10% plus paypal fee etc

or if unworn you could give them as a pressie to a friend's child that would fit them

yes enjoy, i do understand the concept of shopping. thats why i was surprised that they would take the goods back AND keep my money

The shop doesn't know she's got another DD that may some day fit the jeans.

The shop may then have thought, blimey how to get rid ASAP and still make her think we have considered her request (even though she clearly hasn't grasped the concept of purchasing goods at all).

Thus giving the fiver, which they were under no obligation to do s a gesture of goodwill.

I guess you have to consider what are essentially 2nd hand jeans are worth and £5 is fair really.

Are they still selling that particular product?

but enjoy, i'm wondering if YOU grasp the concept of an exchange/ refund/ credit note, darling?

you gotta admit that i've got a point, surely.

Noonar, they already HAD your money.

£5 for second hand jeans is fine for a car boot sale/eBay maddening, but not for the retail store which sold them to you in the first place. It's a bit DelBoy for a major retailer.

Once the refund period is over, it's not your money anymore, it's their's. I doubt the jeans would be current stock anymore either. So really you were asking them to buy back jeans that they could no longer re-sell, except as a sale item, and therefore were not worth the full amount anymore. The "good will" part of it is them offering at all.

I don't think you have a brass neck for asking, but I do think it's a bit off to complain it's not good enough when someone has offered you a favour.

tethers, i am glad someone's on my wave length!

mrsmango, how is keeping my tenner doing me a favour??

It's not your tenner though, is it. You gave them that money 3 months ago, they gave you a limited time to ask for it back, but you kept their jeans. Now the jeans are yours and the £15 is their's.